The Art of Overthinking
by piinkblush
Summary: High school is a place where a teenager can grow and learn. For Ally Dawson, a veteran in home-schooling, coming into high school as a junior should be fun. Until she meets the ever so popular and ever so confusing senior Austin Moon.
1. are you for real, is this a game?

**Marino High School ; September 6, 2013 **

Today was the day.

I woke up with probably the largest smile on my face. I was going to high school. I know, most kids would probably dread going back to school. But they've never had the pleasure of having their parents be their teachers.

My mom insisted that the teachers didn't know what they were doing when I went into preschool. So, she registered me as a child that would be homeschooled. It's silly that shortly after I turned five, she chose to volunteer at foundations in Africa. My dad wanted to put me in public school since my mom wasn't there to convince him otherwise but then my mom wanted me to join her in Africa for a year.

So I went and ended up staying for five years but since my mother was highly trained woman, I learned things that were higher than the average grade level. When I returned to my dad's house, he insisted on putting me in public school because he had to work. There was a fight with the board of education and things went awry.

I didn't think much of public school until met Trish De La Rosa when I was twelve in an ice cream parlor. She was a year older than I was and talked about going into her final year of middle school and how this boy, Trent had kissed her.

It sent me into my own imagination on how my life in public school would be. I began to try to persuade my dad, though he wasn't on board completely after so much effort put into the board of education, to let me into regular high school instead of doing my mom's assignments that she used to send over.

He told me, "You want to grow up, then you'll have to act like a grown up and get a job. At _Sonic Boom_."

_Sonic Boom _was my dad's music store that he opened after he married my mom. I began working there and became obsessed with all the instruments inside. I loved playing music and hoped that going to public high school would help widen my horizons to universities for music.

I went downstairs singing cheerfully. As I got dressed and continued to act like Snow White, my dad didn't say anything. He knew how much this meant to me and probably didn't want to ruin it.

I brushed my hair and smiled at my reflection.

I was ready.

* * *

My dad dropped me off in front of the school twenty minutes before the bell rang, for which I was grateful. I didn't need to be the new girl who couldn't find her way around a simple structured building.

Just as I was making my way inside the office, two people walked by.

But it wasn't just anybody; it seemed to be one of those unbelievably popular and unbelievably gorgeous couples.

The girl had straight dirty blonde hair flowing down her back onto her light pink chiffon collared top that showed off her sun-kissed skin. Her black shorts were extra short, extenuating her long, lean legs. Her hazel eyes seemed to be frozen in a cold expression as she passed everyone in the hallway as if they were rodents. It actually shocked me that she didn't complete her snobby outfit with heels. Black bedazzled flip flops were placed on her feet instead.

The boy next to her seemed to be the complete opposite. Instead of trying to show off his probably thousand dollar clothes, he chose a simple white shirt with dark khakis. His hair was windblown and messy opposite to the girl's calm and chic look; his bleached blonde hair added a sort of prominence of his lightly tanned skin. Jeez, did every popular kid have perfect skin?

All in all, he was perfect in a completely imperfect way, if that makes sense.

They walked past me and I was left in awe. They were like gods or something.

It took a few moments for me to recompose myself and walk into the office.

* * *

After getting my schedule, I felt…afraid.

I didn't know my way to any of these classes and we only had five minutes in between classes. I only had fifteen minutes until my first period and I didn't feel like spending an hour running all over the place trying to find my classes.

It seemed to have shown on my face as the old woman who helped me, looked at me with a sympathetic smile.

"Are you new here, dear?"

I nodded vigorously.

"Alright, I'll help you."

Instead of leading me outside in the hallway like I'd expected, she turned on the intercom. Then she announced clearly, "Austin Moon, please report to the main office. Austin Moon, please come to the office."

"Um, who's Austin Moon?" I asked the woman but she didn't respond due to the door flying open. The cause of the door was the popular boy from the hallway.

What was he doing here?

"I'm here. But I swear it was Dez." He said breathily. The woman smiled at him and then at me.

"You're not in trouble Mr. Moon. You're a senior now and I think as a senior you should be able to show this young lady around the school for this year. You could be her guide for example. So, Mr. Moon, this is Ally Dawson. Ally Dawson, this is Austin Moon."

I froze.

The guy from the hallway…I was supposed to be hanging out with him? He was supposed to come at my beck and call? I was hanging out with a popular kid?

All of my thoughts must've been on my face because Austin turned to me with a smirk on his face.

I was officially lame.

"Nice to meet you." He smiled dazzlingly at me. I flushed, was he doing it on purpose? He stuck his hand out to me and I took hesitantly. I shook it once and then pulled back before I could make a bigger idiot of myself.

"Pleasure." I said quietly.

"Her first class is Chemistry, take her to room 313. And then escort her to her other classes."

"Sure." He said before winking at me. I blushed and silently wished that Austin would get sick and not be able to escort me anymore.

I didn't like this. I didn't like him walking beside me without a care in the world while I felt self-conscious. I didn't like how he knew exactly what to do to make me blush.

That's what I realized what he was doing.

"You should join some clubs." Said Austin, cutting me off completely from confronting him.

"Why?"

"Because then you'll get to meet new people and put yourself out there."

"Are you trying to ditch me to go someplace else, Mr. Moon?" I say looking up at his facial expression though it wasn't flustered like I would've imagined but completely neutral and relaxed.

"No, I just want you to get some friends-"

"I have friends." I said coldly.

"Okay, well, you don't have to join clubs if you want to spend more time with me. I wouldn't mind." I looked at him and he smirked.

"Where should I sign up then?" I said coolly, I tried to remain unimpressed that my voice stayed so steady.

He chuckled, "You're funny, and so what are your other classes? We might have some together."

"How? You're a senior and I'm a junior."

"Well, I meant electives, even lunch. I promise I'll sit next to you." He smiled crookedly and I wished he'd stop.

We reached Room 313, ten minutes before the bell and I was forever grateful.

"Thanks for escorting me." I said to him.

He winked, "My pleasure." Then he walked away. That's how I managed to write all of this down without him harassing me.

I'd need to talk to the office and beg them to make sure that I was away from that creep.

I did not need to be in court for restraining orders.

That stupid creep thought he was good-looking enough to seduce any girl he laid his stupid brown eyes on.

And that sad part was, I almost fell for it.

**A|N – This is written from Ally's 'Diary' and that's why there's a date and a location. I was inspired by the writing style of **_**Commentarius **_**which was inspired by a real book but I don't know the name.**

**Review&Favorite/Follow**

**-Nicole xoxo**

**p.s. this is my first ever Auslly fanfic so I hope I did okay, a little OOC.**


	2. you started messin' with my head

**De la Rosa Residence – Same Day**

The day passed fairly easy in my opinion. Though Austin was outside my classroom door the moment the bell rang. When the woman in the office told him to be my personal guide, I didn't expect him to take it so seriously.

It was also overwhelming since I used to think this boy was attractive and cool. Now, it seemed he was on a mission to prove me wrong. He was attractive and _flirtatious, _very, very, very _flirtatious. _

"Is it me or do you look flustered every time you see me outside your classroom door?" He smirked, once again walking very closely to my person.

"That's just my self-defense against arrogant people."

"I think you mistake my confidence for arrogance. Many can confuse the two."

I ignored his comment and continued to walk ahead though it wasn't my smartest idea because I forgot how tall he was. His long legs took him merely one stride before he caught up with me.

Damn him.

And the conversations kept going every period, except for lunch which I was thankful I didn't share with him. As I went onto my fourth period, I could see his arm slung lazily over the slim blonde he walked with in the hallway.

His girlfriend.

It shocked me that they were even still together. After all, he flirts with every walking female on the face of the Earth.

I discovered this because I brought him up in conversation with Trish while we were leaving school.

"Trent keeps saying that he's sorry but I don't know. My mom always says that I shouldn't give a guy who cheats on me another chance. But, I mean we've been together since forever you know."

I nodded still thinking about how to ask her about Austin without sounding interested.

"Yeah. I think you should maybe try it again if that's what you really want." I said.

Trish looked at me and smiled, "Ally, you're right. I think I will. Anyway, how did your first day go?"

"Do you know who Austin Moon is?" I blurt out before I could properly calculate a plan on how to ask. Trish seemed pretty surprised herself.

I am such an idiot.

"Yeah. _Everyone_ knows who Austin Moon is. Why? D'you make a friend on your first day?" She poked my arm and gave me a knowing look.

"No. I just had the same lunch period as him and he was eating a pretty large sandwich. It was a big deal in the restaurant and I wanted to know if it was like that everywhere he went."

"Ah. Well, Austin Moon is probably the most popular guy in school. Scratch that, he is. And it's not even because he's dating Cassidy. Though she did give him points with other girls who became victims to his flirtatious and seducing ways."

"He's a player?" Go figure, I thought. I'm going to be stuck with a player who will see as nothing more than a challenge. One girl who thinks he's positively disgusting because of how arrogant he is, must be something new for him.

That's probably why he keeps bugging me. And everything soon made sense except for the part about why Cassidy chose to stay with him. He practically slept with every girl in school while dating her.

"Yeah. But I guess that made him even more popular. More popular than Cassidy at least. That reminds me, should I call Trent or let him call me?"

I knew the conversation was over the minute she went back to talking about Trent and I knew that I couldn't ask any more questions without her being suspicious about it.

Maybe someone at school could tell me.

I shook my head.

I didn't care. Austin Moon could stay the hell out of my life and continue living in STD Island with every other player in the world.

He had his life and I have my own. Nothing that Austin Moon does or did in a previous time should concern me, right?

And even if it did, that has nothing to do with attraction or hormones and everything to do with curiosity because of me going to a school. A school that is filled with people and their stories. That's all.

Trish went to go shower and I called my dad, hoping he wouldn't completely flip out nor do something crazy like call the police.

"Hello?" His voice said over the other end of the phone.

"Hey dad. I'm alright, school ended twenty minutes ago and Trish and I walked to her house."

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, dad. I can walk home from her house. I promise."

"You sure, it'll be no trouble at all."

"Positive and if I'm not sure, I'll make sure to call you."

"Uh, okay. I'll see you later than."

He hung up before I could say anything else.

* * *

**My Room – Completely an utterly confused; Still September 6****th**

I decided that staying with Trish would only get my father even more worried, so I decided that after an hour of talking about Trent, I was going home.

Once I got home however, my dad wasn't there.

That's when I knew I'd done it. Whenever my dad was stressed, he would try to occupy himself. By this, I mean, clean the house or alphabetize the pile of mail in the kitchen. The house was much cleaner than this morning which means that he could be at the only place that is always a mess.

Sonic Boom.

The store seemed fairly empty when I arrived so I knew finding my dad would be easy. What I didn't notice was a ginger haired boy playing the drums…

With his shoes.

My first instinct was to lunge and ring his neck.

Those drums were _very _expensive and there was a clear sign that said '**DON'T TOUCH THE INSTRUMENTS**'.

I didn't bother going with my second instinct because this is a _store. _Not a barn.

One thing stopped me from walking over there and it had blonde hair.

Shit.

Immediately my stomach dropped and I felt like I was facing a demon. Although he was facing the boy on the drums. Then I thought, what if I left and came back later to see how my dad was doing. Maybe I should just go home and wait for him there.

Neither of them was quick enough because the ginger boy kept staring at me and made it completely obvious that someone else was in the room besides them. It was good that I never decided to become a spy because I could not have run faster.

Another pair of eyes found their way to mine and I knew I was screwed.

But that wasn't even the worst part.

"Ally? What are you doing here?" said my dad from upstairs.

That's when I knew I must've been a horrible criminal in another life. Was I Bonnie or Clyde? What did I even do to deserve this kind of humiliation?

"Hi…dad." I closed my eyes and cringed at how hoarse my voice sounded.

"I-I'm sorry. Can I help you?" My dad definitely knew that I was dying of embarrassment. I think everyone in the room knew, my cheeks were practically on fire.

"Um, no sir. We were just gonna go, but that was before I found out Ally worked here. You're her dad?" I opened one eye and saw Austin grinning at me, holding up his hands and waving them between my dad and me.

"Yes, are you one of Ally's friends?"

"N-" I began.

"Yes! I'm actually her personal guide at school." Said Austin proudly.

"Oh. D-Did you want to leave with them, Ally?"

"No!" I said loudly. It seemed like I was only adding fuel to the flame.

"Right. Well, Dez and I were going to leave anyway."

"Okay. Come back soon." My father quickly moved back into his office upstairs and closed the door. We were definitely related.

Once the door shut, my fate was sealed. Dez continued playing on the drums and Austin decided to harass me.

"Since when did you work at Sonic Boom?"

"Since my dad bought it. I thought you were leaving." I tried sounding confident. I honestly tried but ended up stumbling over my words.

"I thought so too but it I thought it'd be better to stick around here."

"You thought wrong. What are you even playing at? D'you think I'm some challenge that you need to conquer?"

"Why would I think that?" His voice and expression softened and his once imperious look contorted into one of innocent confusion. And that threw me for a loop.

"N-No reason."

He shook his head and it was as if a curse was lifted off him and he went back over to Dez.

That's all I've been thinking about.

How could someone make me like them then make me feel nauseous just by being near them to completely confused by the end of the day?

Who was Austin Moon?


End file.
